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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Kaf - reading the word backwards, I chose F for my first letter. OK? When the ancients copied the text, they were ever so careful. I copy and paste in so many ways words, letters, paragraphs, tables, and in various technologies some of which pretend to be able to distinguish their left from their right hands, and I am careful - but I sometimes misplace whole words. They slip between the splices of the html tags. If you see a missing word, it is probably not there :-)

Faints my being in your salvation
I have hoped in your word

כָּלְתָהלִתְשׁוּעָתְךָ נַפְשִׁילִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי

Faint my eyes for your promise
saying continually when will you comfort me

כָּלוּ עֵינַילְאִמְרָתֶךָלֵאמֹר מָתַיתְּנַחֲמֵנִי

For I have become like a bottle holding vapor
I have not forgotten your statutes

כִּי הָיִיתִיכְּנֹאד בְּקִיטוֹר
חֻקֶּיךָלֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי

For how are the days of your servant
when will you do judgment against my persecutors

כַּמָּה יְמֵי עַבְדֶּךָמָתַיתַּעֲשֶׂה בְרֹדְפַי מִשְׁפָּט

For me those proud ones dig pits
that are not like your teaching

כָּרוּ לִי זֵדִים שִׁיחוֹת
אֲשֶׁר לֹאכְתוֹרָתֶךָ

Faithful are all your commandments
falsehood! they persecute me - help me

כָּל מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ אֱמוּנָה
שֶׁקֶר רְדָפוּנִי עָזְרֵנִי

For nearly they make me faint on the earth
but I myself do not forsake your precepts

כִּמְעַט כִּלּוּנִיבָאָרֶץוַאֲנִי לֹא עָזַבְתִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ

For your loving kindness let me live
and I will keep the testimony of your mouth for ever

כְּחַסְדְּךָ חַיֵּנִיוְאֶשְׁמְרָה עֵדוּת פִּיךָ לְעוֹלָם

My details are less mechanical this time and more thoughtful - even defensive of my strange translation style. But I must keep up the grammatical grind - it is still surprising and it is possible to slip up!

kaltah

כָּלְתָה

Faints

Anticipating the role of taf in forming a bridge between awkward words and enclitics, the taf here introduces the third person feminine ending (agreeing with the subject 'my being/soul'). The ה is not part of the root כלה in this case but the third person feminine suffix.

litshvu`atka

לִתְשׁוּעָתְךָ

for/in? your salvation

in rather than for - prepositions are weird, stretchable, flexible and often ignored. What am I fainting for? Is the לִ to, of, in, on account of, or what? Is it possessed or desired? Do we know that? (to might work here and below)

nàpshy

נַפְשִׁי

my being

soul is a lovely word but it is not immaterial - it is the full bodily life of the poet/reader/you/me

lidbarka

לִדְבָרְךָ

In your word

Look at that - there's that לִ and I seem to have made it ='in' again! Well = is too strong. Belonging might be better - which is why I like 'in' in these cases

yixalty

יִחָלְתִּי

I have hoped

kalvu

כָּלוּ

Faint

they faint - subject to follow

`éynày

עֵינַי

my eyes

Plural? could you tell the difference between plural and singular when there is a first person possessive pronoun?

l)imrateka

לְאִמְרָתֶךָ

for your promise

the active taf again forming an easy to say link with the suffix

lé)mor

לֵאמֹר

saying continually

not sure why I added continually! (true enough though - pestering is part of prayer)

matày

מָתַי

when

where does this word comprised all of grammatical letters come from? BDB says this is always of future time.

tnàxamény

תְּנַחֲמֵנִי

will you comfort me

intense prayer if one sometimes wonders if there is a future...

ky hayyty

כִּי הָיִיתִי

for I have become like

so the situation of the poet is revealed

kno)d

כְּנֹאד

a bottle

here is a lovely use of the prefixed kaf as a maker of similes

bqy+vor

בְּקִיטוֹר

holding vapour

it's hard to get away from the bottle in the smoke of the AV!

xuqeyka

חֻקֶּיךָ

your statutes

lo)

לֹא

not

shakaxty

שָׁכָחְתִּי

have I forgotten

not forgetting is an adequate defense

kàmah

כַּמָּה

for how are

I guess it is not surprising that our playful poet would use the prefix for some of these verses (three of eight)

yméy `àbdeka

יְמֵי עַבְדֶּךָ

the days of your servant

matày

מָתַי

When

tà`aseh

תַּעֲשֶׂה

will you do

do is awkward but ...

brodpày

בְרֹדְפַי

for my persecutors

Here is a preposition that does not mean 'for' - usually 'in' - which might be good. For if judgment has been done 'in' the poet, then this would be praying for the same benefit (learned with difficulty) for the persecutor

mishpa+

מִשְׁפָּט

judgment

karvu ly

כָּרוּ לִי

for me they dig

for? in the sense of the depression belongs to the poet

zédym

זֵדִים

those proud ones

shyxvot

שִׁיחוֹת

pits

Is it too much to think that the poet gets depressed in these thoughts

)asher lo)

אֲשֶׁר לֹא

that are not

ktvorateka

כְתוֹרָתֶךָ

like your instruction

'like' is better than the English common 'of'

kal micvoteyka

כָּל מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ

all your commandments

)emvunah

אֱמוּנָה

faithful are

listed as a noun, used as an adjective

sheqr

שֶׁקֶר

falsehood

there is no 'in' here - in English I find prepositions creep in almost unconsciously

rdapvuny

רְדָפוּנִי

they persecute me

third person plural perfect with first person pronoun as direct object

`azrény

עָזְרֵנִי

help me

imperative with first person pronoun as direct object

kim`à+

כִּמְעַט

for scarcely

kilvuny

כִּלּוּנִי

they make me faint

third person plural piel perfect with first person pronoun as direct object